


Body Talk: My Type

by greeneyes_softsighs



Series: Body Talk [4]
Category: Gundam Wing
Genre: Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, First Time, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-07
Updated: 2015-07-07
Packaged: 2018-04-08 02:35:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,177
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4287471
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/greeneyes_softsighs/pseuds/greeneyes_softsighs
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Duo meets Trowa for the first time after years of friendship, and possibly more, blossom over the internet. 2x3</p>
<p>This episode is basically a big fluffy, fall in love, two kids getting together for the first time interlude.  <br/>The sex is awkward, yet endearing.  It happens BEFORE the rest of the BT timeline.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Body Talk: My Type

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to my friend maevemauvaise for reading this over and commenting!

“When’re you meeting with your friend, kiddo?” Howard slid back into his seat at their booth and stretched his arms upward, popping a series of joints and bones in succession. The convention hall -- set up for a Tattoo Expo -- was a pretty long trek for a geezer like him, and after a few rounds he needed a break. Unfortunately for him, most of his help was slacking off, and when he arrived back at their booth Duo was catatonic and Hilde was busy playing her gameboy. 

Duo continued to stare into space unfazed, eyes unfocused, mouth slightly agape. All around them, the tattoo convention bustled with activity, yet the only thing Duo could think about was his imminent meeting with Trowa.

“Duo? Earth to Major Duo, come in...” a wrinkled, heavily tattooed hand snapped in front of Duo’s vision, jarring him from his reverie. The kid sat up, rubbing the back of his neck with a huge yawn.

“Shit… yeah, ‘sup?” He asked, glancing around as his mind returned to the job at hand. Howard had left the booth -- it seemed like only minutes ago -- to walk around the convention and make contacts, leaving Duo, his apprentice, at the booth with Hilde to handle sales of their flash artbook and client consultations. Hilde chuckled, though her eyes never left the illuminated screen of her gameboy.

“Loverboy’s been staring into the middle distance all afternoon, Howie,” she drawled. “I think I should get some overtime for picking up his slack.”

“Yo! That’s not cool, Hilde,” Duo complained with a sneer, ruffling his bangs with a tight laugh before smoothing them again. He kicked Hilde’s chair and she lurched to the side, throwing a glare in his direction. “Gimme a break, bitch. I’m nervous as hell.”

“And you should be. What if this turns out to be some Catch a Predator shit? What’s that called, like, fly fishing?”

“Catfishing,” Howard corrected her. Duo groaned and slumped back in the folding chair, closing his eyes against the glare of the fluorescent lights. He grimaced, because it was a possibility, but he was reasonably sure that for the past three years he’d been talking to Trowa. A real life guy. Not some grody old man who dressed like a Japanese schoolgirl, or a cougar looking for her next underage boytoy.

“You guys suck,” he muttered, opening his eyes. “I mean… I don’t think he’s lying to me. We’ve been chatting for a long time. And he, um, sent me a couple pictures. They looked legit to me.”

Hilde looked up from her game so fast she nearly snapped her neck. Howard raised a brow, lifting a series of sub-dermal balls in the process, which made the expression all the more intimidating. Duo grumbled and pulled his phone out as the pair shifted closer, looking over his shoulder while he flipped through his photo album. Most of it consisted of pictures of his artwork, the tattoos he’d worked on, and a general assortment of random images of things he found funny or interesting. He flipped through quickly, and when he stopped on the photos from Trowa, Hilde made a squeak and pointed.

“Oh my God, Duo! He’s so cute and emo!” She giggled, grabbing his phone to get a closer look. The images weren’t very good at all, and most of his face was obscured by a dense fall of dark brown hair. Duo’s face ignited, burning red with embarrassment, so he yanked the hood of his sweatshirt up and scrunched it shut with a tug of the strings.

“Just kill me now,” he complained, muffled by the fabric of his hoodie. 

“Hilde, stop giving the man a hard time,” Howard chuckled, squeezing Duo’s shoulder in a gesture of camaraderie. “Though he does look a little on the young side. You sure the kid’s legal?” 

“Aw, come on, ya old fart!” Duo howled, hood falling from his face as he shrugged off Howard’s hand. The old coot and Hilde cackled gleefully in spite of their friend’s discomfort. Duo snagged his phone from Hilde’s weakened grip and looked at the screen, studying the picture for about the millionth -- maybe billionth -- time since Trowa had sent it to him.

Now that Hilde and Howard had brought it up, Trowa did look a little young in the photos, but maybe he just had a youthful face. They were only eighteen, for Christ’s sake, it wasn’t unheard of for young people to look young. His boss and coworker were just used to people with zillions of body mods, and, in response to the usual glares or gawking they received from the general public, the pair thought anyone without ink was either naive, prudish or uptight. Hilde’s two full sleeves, back and chest tattoos -- along with myriad other piercings in her ears and face -- drew quite a lot of attention while Howard himself was well into his sixties and sported sub-dermal mods along with near full-body tattoos and gauged ears. Trowa’s soft, unmarked face must strike them as childish in comparison.

“Aw, Duo,” Hilde cooed, drawing his attention away from the phone. He leveled an intense glare in her direction, ready for another onslaught of teasing, but the young woman simply chuckled. “We’re just giving you shit. How can we not, when it’s clear that you are stupid in love with him?”

“What!”

“Don’t deny it, kiddo,” Howard slung an arm around Duo’s shoulders, buddying up close. “The look on your face just now gave it all away.”

“Auugh… he’s just my friend,” he muttered uselessly. He wasn’t sure why he was denying it, himself, since it was very clear from the way his heart fluttered every time Trowa’s status said online that he was in deep for a guy he met in a chatroom. “I mean, he just thinks of me as a friend, anyway. I don’t know if he’s gay or whatever. It’s never really come up ever...” He sat back down in his chair slowly.

“Oh, Duo...” Hilde sat beside him, leaning on their table with her cheek propped against her hand. “Well, what did he say when you sent him your picture?”

Duo hung his head slightly and mumbled to the table, “I didn’t...”

“Seriously?!” Hilde screeched. “Why not? Oh, Duo!!” His head thunked down onto the table heavily.

“He doesn’t know I’ve got all these tattoos and piercings,” he said quietly. “I didn’t want him to think I was, like, some redneck from the deep south.”

“Whoa, that’s a little insulting,” Hilde muttered. “Have some self-respect, man. If he can’t accept you for something as inconsequential as a tattoo, or a few piercings, then I doubt he’ll be worth any of your trouble farther down the road. I mean, you’re a tattoo artist. He can’t seriously think you wouldn’t have any ink in this kind of profession?”

“It’s not unheard of...” Duo replied cautiously, earning an exasperated growl from his co-worker. 

“Duo, you’re so goddamn handsome! And normally you’re super confident, too. I don’t like this new Love-Sick version of you. He’s pathetic,” Hilde complained, pulling her gameboy back out of her pocket. Duo sat up straighter, catching Hilde’s meaningful look before she returned to playing her game. She was right, though. When it came to Trowa, he was so intensely self-conscious that he sometimes found himself lying about things that were normally no problem for him. And it wasn’t as if Trowa had ever shown a dislike for tattoos or piercings. Duo was just hyper-aware of how much people judged him when they saw the metal jewelry poking from his ears and lips.

Suddenly, Duo pulled out his phone and opened the camera app. He leaned back, wrapped an arm around Hilde’s shoulders, and shouted, “Cheese!” Before he could second guess himself, Duo sent the selfie with a short note.

takenoprisoners666 [4:09 pm]: at the convention with my co-workers! see u soon.

“Duo, I look terrible in that!” Hilde griped. She had a very unflattering double chin due to the strange angle of the photo.

“Good. You’ll make me look better, then,” he quipped, glancing down at the little ellipses that trailed after Trowa’s screen name. It was there for a full minute. Duo wiped his sweaty palms on his pants and put his phone aside to help some customers while Howard was busy with a consult. After a small rush he returned, and the infuriatingly unassuming dot dot dot was still there, taunting him.

“What’d he say?” Hilde asked eagerly after her customers left the booth.

“Nothing yet...” Duo grumbled. “God, this is really messing me up--” he paused, blood pressure skyrocketing when the text tone dinged.

clowning00around [4:15 pm]: u never told me u have a lip piercing!

Duo swallowed, shooting back a reply as Hilde watched on from over his shoulder.

takenoprisoners666 [4:15 pm]: among others…  
clowning00around [4:16 pm]: :///9  
clowning00around [4:16 pm]: that’s cool.

Hilde grabbed him and screeched loudly, shaking Duo roughly with giddy laughter. A few passersby spared them affronted glances or amused looks.

“Look at that emoticon! He’s totally into you, Duo! Oh my God!” She gasped, clapping her hands in a totally uncharacteristic show of romantic excitement. Duo’s cheeks were burning, but he couldn’t wipe off the grin that had plastered itself across his face. It was very possible that he would never stop smiling, for the rest of his life, because of that one little blob of random symbols and numbers.

clowning00around [4:18 pm]: ur friend looks hilarious, btw.

Duo snorted, choking on his laughter as he quickly hid the phone from Hilde’s view before jotting his response. His head felt like a balloon it was so light, and his heart was pounding in his chest excitedly. 

takenoprisoners666 [4:19 pm]: she always looks like that. what about me?

Those damn ellipses appeared again, but Duo was expecting that, since it was a bit of a loaded question and he was selfish enough to want an answer. When the response came, Duo bit his lip and squeezed his eyes shut, imagining that everyone could practically see the steam coming from his ears his face felt so hot.

“What’d he say?” Hilde bounced up and down. Intoxicated and giddy, Duo unthinkingly held up his phone to show her the messages.

clowning00around [4:21 pm]: u look hilarious too.  
clowning00around [4:21 pm]: i mean handsome. ;)

“Aw!! That’s so cute -- wait a second... Hey!” Hilde bopped Duo over the head, but even that didn’t seem to faze him. The braided man giggled and looked at the text messages, reading them through again while Hilde feigned anger.

clowning00around [4:23 pm]: i have to get back to work. can’t wait to see u later.  
clowning00around [4:23 pm]: bye  
clowning00around is offline.

“I think I’m going to barf, I’m so happy,” Duo sighed, sliding his phone into the pocket of his sweatshirt.

“I think I’m going to barf, because you’re pathetic,” Hilde rolled her eyes, though she barely contained her grin.

“Still? But I sent him a picture!”

“Yeah. But, like, pathetic in a different way,” Hilde qualified with a smirk. “Like in a ‘you’re so in love and smiling so much it’s making me sick’ way. I can pretty much see the little hearts floating around your dumb head.”

“Nothing is ever good enough for you, woman,” Duo rolled his eyes. He checked the time, then leaned forward and returned to staring off into space dreamily, now with a smile on his face.

\--00--

Duo became jittery again as the rendezvous approached. Howard and Hilde dropped him off on their way back to the hotel, leaving him outside the small diner where Trowa had agreed to meet him, and he stood by the entrance for a couple minutes trying to psych himself up.

“You can do this, Duo. He’s into you. He liked your photo,” he said, wringing his hands. “He thinks your lip ring is cool. By extension, he probably thinks you’re just cool in general. Oh God...” Duo sucked in a breath, pushing down the anxious thought that maybe he’d never live up to Trowa’s expectations. He grabbed the door handle and pulled it open, imagining that he left a very damp handprint in his wake. In fact, he felt like he was drowning in sweat right about now even though it was chilly outside. He should have changed his sweatshirt after leaving the convention.

The diner had some pretty non-descript innards -- tarnished chrome and faded red leather seats, peeling linoleum-topped tables with waitresses walking around in white sneakers and light-blue t-shirts. It was busy, but not too loud, and most of the tables were visible from the front door. Duo glanced around quickly, trying to find Trowa based on his pictures. It didn’t take long. 

He was seated in a booth, elbows propped up on the table with his chin resting on folded hands while looking out the window beside him. Duo’s heart made an immediate mutinous effort, jamming up his throat in an attempt to strangle him or simply evacuate. With a whimper, the braided man retreated back out onto the street and yanked his phone from his pocket. For some reason, the only thing he could think to do was call Hilde.

“Duo! Why are you calling? Isn’t your date soon?”

“Hilde help,” Duo wheezed.

“What’s wrong?” 

“I saw him. In the diner,” he gasped, clutching the front of his hoodie. His heart had given up on its efforts to strangle him and went for the more unusual method of beating him to death from the inside out.

“Awesome!”

“No! Not awesome,” he said. “I can’t do this. Please come pick me up.”

“Duo… what the hell happened? Just three hours ago you were giddy over that little emoticon he sent you.” Her worry had graduated to exasperation. Duo groaned, banging his head on the brick of the building.

“Hilde, he’s fucking gorgeous. And he’s dressed, like, really nice. And he probably smells really good, too,” Duo lamented. “I look like a hobo. I probably smell worse, and… and...”

Duo heard a soft sigh on Hilde’s end before she said, “I know you’re anxious about this, but I’m not bailing you out. I think that would be a mistake. Bite the bullet, meet him, and just take it one fucking moment at a time. If it ends in disaster, Howard and I will come sweep up the little pieces of your broken heart and take you out drinking. I hope you brought your fake ID.”

“Hilde...” Duo whimpered.

“I’m hanging up on you, Duo,” she deadpanned. “Good luck.” The phone beeped to signal their disconnected call.

Duo slid down the wall and sat in a crouch, staring at his phone for some kind of answers. He wasn’t normally an anxious person. When things came at him, he usually took it with a more relaxed mindset or went with the flow. For some reason, though, this entire situation had blown out of proportion in his mind. It was like whenever he thought of meeting Trowa, the future became blank and he felt all semblance of control vanish. He couldn’t imagine how they would interact with each other, how he himself would react, or how Trowa would respond. He had no preparation for the reality and it was scary beyond all get out.

Suddenly, his phone buzzed with a message. For one frightening second, Duo though that maybe Trowa had seen him arrive and run away.

clowning00around [6:53 pm]: i’m at the restaurant already.  
clowning00around [6:53 pm]: got here early like a loser lol

Duo smiled and bit his lip, gently sucking on the silver ring. His hands were shaking as he responded.

takenoprisoners666 [6:54 pm]: ur not a loser.  
takenoprisoners666 [6:54 pm]: i’m almost there. what are u wearing so i can find you?  
clowning00around [6:55 pm]: a janky old turtleneck sweater. and pants. lol so 90s.  
clowning00around [6:55 pm]: i’m sitting at a booth all alone.   
clowning00around [6:55 pm]: hurry up. the waitress keeps giving me pitying looks.

With a snort, Duo pocketed his phone and stood up. He took a deep breath, waiting for his anxiety settle to a reasonable level after another minute, then entered the diner again. This time Trowa saw him almost immediately and gave a little wave, and Duo cracked a wide grin on his way over to the table, unable to tear his eyes away. To his surprise, Trowa stood and they immediately pulled each other into a hug.

“Oh my God,” Duo laughed when they finally sat down. 

“What?” Trowa asked. His voice was softer than Duo imagined, though not timid, and it seemed to fit him perfectly. The braided man exhaled and raked his fingers through his bangs, pushing them off his forehead.

“You’re taller’n me,” he said with a self-deprecating laugh.

“Weren't expecting that?” Trowa smirked. His eyes traveled up and down Duo, pausing for long periods just when they made eye contact. The photo really didn’t do him justice, Duo thought. Trowa was conventionally attractive, with a willowy frame and elongated features that some people would probably describe as elegant and classically beautiful. His hair was lighter than his photo suggested, too, and his eyes were…

“Um...” Duo rubbed his neck when he realized that he was staring. He clasped his hands in his lap to keep them from shaking. “No. I mean, I dunno. I never really thought about it before.”

“Me either, I guess,” Trowa replied with a shrug. “The only thing I really wondered about was your accent.”

“Seriously?” Duo realized that he probably did have an accent, being from Louisiana, specifically New Orleans. He’d never thought that Trowa would be interested in it. “Do I have one?”

“Yeah, a little,” Trowa nodded with a soft chuckle. “Not as much as I expected, but you still sound, um, southern-ish.” As they chatted, the waitress came by and passed them a couple waters and took their orders. Duo relaxed into his booth after that, stretching his legs out under the table.

“You were thinkin’, like, creole or cajun, huh?” Duo asked, and Trowa offered a sheepish nod in reply, leaning forward to take a sip of water. “Nah, I mean… I have friends with cajun roots, but my family is originally from North Carolina and, like, Pennsylvania, I think. I’ve picked up some words from my buddies, but only a little.”

“That’s interesting,” Trowa said. “All the different dialects and accents in such a small area.”

“I’m more interested in the food, honestly,” Duo laughed. “More specifically the sausages--” Trowa snorted suddenly and choked on his water, coughing into his hand until Duo could manage to shove some napkins at him. When the fit was over, he inhaled and wiped his red-rimmed eyes, shaking with silent laughter.

“Sorry,” the taller boy wheezed.

“Dude, sausages, though? You got one dirty mind if that puts you over the edge,” Duo teased, thrilled to learn that such a tame jibe brought a cute red tint to the tips of Trowa’s ears. He was inclined to take another stab. “I mean, I know I’m cute an’ all, but maybe we should save the blatant innuendo until our second date. I don’t wanna come off as too easy.”

His reward was Trowa’s cherry-red face hidden in his hands, and the gentle tremble of his shoulders as he continued laughing.

“S-stop,” he gasped, clamping a hand over his mouth to stifle his laughter even more.

“I mean, only if you’re into that kind of thing,” Duo added with a shy grin.

“What kind of thing?” Trowa giggled, swallowing as he dabbed tears from his cheeks with the end of his sleeve. When he met Duo’s gaze, his eyes were shiny and bright, crinkling at the edges when he smiled. It was the braided man’s turn to blush. He shrugged nonchalantly.

“I guess… if you’re into southern guys with weird tattoos and a bunch of lame piercings,” Duo tried carefully. 

“No, I’m more into the goofy-artist-with-an-alternative-lifestyle types,” Trowa said seriously. Duo’s heart skipped a beat and he grinned, looking down slightly to hide just how pleased that made him. “The kind who trolls chatrooms and terrorizes the unsuspecting innocents found therein...”

“Oh my God, that was three years ago,” Duo barked out a laugh. “I was a stupid fifteen year old.” His cheeks were starting to hurt from all his smiling. It had only been a few minutes ago, but all of his worries about meeting up with Trowa were quickly melting away. It felt good to talk with him face to face, to hear his voice and notice all the little idiosyncrasies -- the ones that matched up with what Duo recognized from their chats online, and the ones that were new and purely Trowa-in-real-life. And even though they were both still feeling each other out, it was clear that the familiarity was still there.

“You scarred me emotionally,” Trowa argued. “Oh, and you almost got me grounded when my dad found that image in my browser history.”

“Oh shit,” Duo cackled. “Oh God, I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking about that. Honestly, I really just wanted to humiliate my brother with that picture.”

“How would that--” Trowa’s eyes widened. “That picture was your brother?”

“Yeah...” Duo paused. “I didn’t tell you that?”

“Oh God, Duo,” Trowa groaned and hid his face again, using his hair as a barrier while his fingers covered his embarrassed grimace. The sheer amount of regret in his voice gave Duo pause, until he realized why Trowa was so remorseful.

“No… you didn’t,” Duo hissed. Trowa nodded slowly, flushed all the way down his turtleneck as he peeked over his fingers. Duo imagined that his entire body was probably red as a tomato.

“Hey! Like you just said, we were fifteen... and your brother is really handsome,” Trowa muttered defensively, folding his arms. “What I did was only natural. You, on the other hand... Who posts nudes of their siblings on the internet? It’s definitely your fault.”

“Oh man, I did not force you to beat off to my brother,” Duo cackled. “Ow!” A swift kick to his shin cut him off briefly, but the look on Trowa’s face set him off again. He had never been the recipient of such an intensely concentrated glare before. Slowly he calmed down, biting his lip to keep from cracking up again as the waitress arrived with their food. “Sorry,” Duo apologized weakly while she slid a burger in front of him and a club sandwich in front of Trowa.

“You don’t really look alike,” Trowa mused after a moment of silence while Duo upended the bottle of ketchup over his fries. The braided man paused, confused for a minute before realization dawned. He chuckled and shook his head while screwing the cap back on the bottle.

“I was adopted,” he explained, licking a dob of the condiment off his thumb before digging into his burger. “Solo is my parents’ only biological child. Then there’s me, and my little sister Helen. We were adopted later when they realized they couldn’t pop out anymore babies the good ol’ fashioned way.”

“Duo...” Trowa’s tone was probably a warning against the serious amount of self-deprecation weighing Duo’s words. He shrugged, offering his friend a cheeky grin and a wave of the hand.

“Whatever. I mean, it’s no big deal,” Duo brushed it off. “Believe me, I’ve had a long time to come to terms with… whatever… and my parents aren’t too bad. At least they never monitored my browser history --” he flinched just as an errant olive smacked him on the cheek, leaving a juicy wet spot before landing on his fries with a plop. Duo chuckled at the sour look on Trowa’s face, though it was hard for the other to maintain and before long they were laughing again. They continued to eat, falling into an amiable silence. Duo found that he was practically starving -- hours of working at a convention booth would do that to you -- and he was nearly finished with his burger before Trowa spoke up again.

“Um… so how long are you here for?”

“Only until Monday,” Duo said, trying not to sound as depressed as he felt when the realization hit. Two more days, and it wasn’t likely that he and Trowa would be able to meet up again after today because of their work schedules. They had only met for -- at most -- 45 minutes and already Duo was hooked. 

“Oh. Maybe I can visit you tomorrow night?”

“Actually, that’s when I gotta do inventory on all our things with Hilde,” Duo grumbled, glancing up in time to see Trowa’s small, hopeful smile vanish. It was replaced with a polite mask, something totally unreadable to Duo that spiked his anxiety. “I’m not doing anything all tonight, though. I can take you back to the hotel to meet Howie and Hilde, if you want. They’re even crazier looking than I am.”

“Duo, you’re not crazy looking,” Trowa chuckled. “The craziest thing about you is your two foot braid.” The tall boy sat up, leaning over the table to pick up said braid. His fingertips brushed the nape of Duo’s neck as they stroked down the thick plait, winding it over Duo’s shoulder and over the food until it hung between them like a rope bridge.

“Yeah, I guess it’s kind of weird...” heat rose up, blooming across Duo’s cheeks and the tips of his ears. He didn’t usually let people touch his hair, but the way Trowa inspected it and held it was nothing short of a caress. He was careful and curious.

“It is weird. I mean, it’s not normal. Not a lot of people walk around with two foot long hair,” Trowa explained, tracing the interwoven strands with a finger. “I like it. It must be really beautiful when it’s loose.”

The three words I, like and it were innocuous when anyone but Trowa strung them together like that. To Duo, they were poisonous. As soon as they left Trowa’s lips, the braided boy knew -- beyond any shadow of a doubt -- that he couldn’t let the other just go. He was stung by them, and Trowa’s venom was the most pleasant, slow burning toxin. It rushed through his blood, engorging every vein and nerve in his body until the only thing that registered was Trowa. Trowa. Trowa.

“Fuck...” Duo murmured softly. 

“Huh?” Trowa looked up from the hair, then returned it to Duo’s side of the table.

“Nothing. Um, you done eating?”

“Yeah,” Trowa smiled. They paid dutch, then pushed out of the door onto the street. Trowa led them to a little blue Suzuki, and they piled in for the short drive to the hotel. Duo glanced over at Trowa’s profile as they drove, studying the straight line of his nose and long, dark lashes that framed his sharp green eyes. He blew out a puff of air and grinned, leaning his elbow on the door panel while shuffling his fingers through his bangs. This was surreal.

“Just as a warning,” Duo mentioned while Trowa parked. “Hilde might start hanging all over you.”

“That’s okay. I’m used to it,” Trowa replied off hand. Duo turned to him, but the taller boy just grinned as he stepped out of the car. It was a short walk to the room, and when Duo opened the door, he was surprised to see that Howie was absent.

“Weird,” Duo walked over to the small table offered as a desk to guests and picked up the notepad. Howie had scribbled a short, partially illegible note -- Went to play poker with the boys! - Howie. A winky face similar to the one Trowa had sent Duo earlier followed Howard’s signature. “Welp, I guess they went out. That’s kinda shitty...”

“Oh...” Trowa replied, but he didn’t sound too bummed about it. The lanky boy sat on one of the double beds and watched as Duo scratched his head and frowned at the note. Their eyes met when Duo glanced over hopelessly and shrugged.

“I guess we can go out and do something,” Duo suggested after a moment of silence. Trowa leaned back on the bed, shoulders shrugging around his ears as he thought about it.

“Sorry. I’m beat from work at the Y. Aren’t you tired?”

“Kinda...” Duo let his response peeter out, suddenly swallowed by a feeling of restlessness. Being alone in a hotel room -- with Trowa -- was certainly the kind of scenario that could lead to things. And thoughts of those things led Duo’s gaze to Trowa’s knees and up his jean-clad thighs to his crotch. This was a set up, Duo knew it, and he wasn’t sure whether he should throttle Howard later or praise him for his foresight. Left to his own devices, Duo might have just balked and run like he’d tried earlier.

“I’d rather just hang out with you, honestly,” Trowa said, and Duo’s eyes snapped up to his face. “I know we chat, like, every night. But this is… different.” Duo walked over to the bed, dragging one of the hotel chairs behind him to sit across from Trowa. He flipped it backward and straddled it, leaning his arms on the back while regarding Trowa on the bed. The butterflies in his stomach were acting up again, but this time he ignored them and focused on Trowa, pushing away the anxiety and anticipation for the moment.

“It is different,” Duo agreed with a little laugh. “It’s nice. Like, really good to hear you for once. I don’t know why I never called you.”

“Because every time I asked, you made up a dumb excuse,” Trowa replied. He kicked out one long leg and tapped the side of Duo’s calf with his ankle, then let his foot fall back to the floor to rest against Duo’s. The braided boy chewed his lip, letting his hair fall over his eyes sheepishly.

“Okay, yeah. Sorry… I was just --”

“It’s okay, Duo,” Trowa interrupted softly, smoothing hair behind his ear. “I still like chatting with you online…” he fidgeted nervously with a loose thread on the bed’s comforter. Duo remained silent while Trowa seemed to work up the courage to continue. “I had something to tell you, but now I feel like it’s going to come out kind of weird.”

“So not much of a difference than the usual,” Duo replied, raising his brows with a shit-eating grin. Trowa’s eyes met Duo’s briefly. His expression was sheltered, unreadable as far as Duo was concerned, but it slowly gave way to a small, bashful smile.

“You’re… my best friend,” Trowa admitted after a moment of silent debate. “I have, like, one other friend besides you, and I still have things that I can’t tell him. Over the past three years, you’ve been the only constant. Really, you’re the only person I can really rely on, and up until now I feel like that sounded so stupid because we’d never met in person. I didn’t even know what you looked like until a couple hours ago.”

Trowa paused, taking a steadying breath. Duo felt like his heart was caught in a fist. Every time Trowa spoke, that fist tightened its grip until Duo could hardly stand it anymore. He wanted to crawl onto the bed and wrap his arms around the taller boy. He wanted to stroke his hair and kiss his cheeks. He wanted Trowa to know that he cared, and that he understood how he felt.

“That’s not weird,” Duo said quietly. Trowa just shrugged, as though he wasn’t 100% convinced, and Duo leaned forward. “It’s not weird, ‘cuz I feel the same way. And… I might even... have a slight crush on you. More than best friends.” The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them, halting and nervous, but completely sincere. Trowa’s green eyes widened and he let out a small, incredulous peep of laughter before he was able to stifle his mouth with a hand. Duo’s heartbeat thundered in his ears. That wasn’t exactly the most ideal reaction, but there was no going back now.

“Duo...” Trowa laughed happily. “Wow. I… I feel the same way, actually. I have for a while.”

“Shit,” Duo cursed, pressing his forehead against the back of the chair as those words sunk in. Could it really have been that easy?

“I mean, I didn’t want to assume, but I always felt like you were kind of flirting with me,” Trowa added, and Duo’s head shot up in surprise. The taller boy smirked at him cheekily.

“Well, you were right. I think that like… a year back was when I realized that, consciously or not, I was flirting with you online,” Duo sighed, returning Trowa’s smile with his own lopsided grin. Now that it was all up in the air, Duo felt giddy and lightheaded. He bounced his knee, burning through the excess energy brought on by the adrenaline created by their exchange. Trowa sat up from his reclined position and leaned forward, long legs stretched on either side of Duo’s chair.

“Now that it’s, like, out in the open,” Trowa said, voice low and trailing off uncertainly. His frank gaze searched Duo’s face, and silence stretched between them as the braided boy tried to decide what to do.

“I, um...” Duo’s knee continued its frenzied jiggling, brushing his and Trowa’s calves together. He cleared his throat and looked away from Trowa, unable to think of much else besides just pressing him into the bed and kissing him breathless. Indecision forced him down the usual route, though, and Duo opted for escape. “I’m gonna go get a drink from the vending machines. Do you want something?”

“Uh… water, I guess,” Trowa replied just in time for Duo to shout a quick ‘Got it!’ and jog out the hotel room door. The braided boy hurried down the hallway, pocketing his hands and scowling at the ground. Well, now he knew that the feelings were mutual. Thinking back on it, he supposed that it might have been more obvious if he’d actually paid any attention to Trowa and gotten his anxious head out of his own ass. Now what, though? He ducked into the small alcove housing the vending and ice machines, contemplating the colorful array of sodas and candies without really seeing them. 

He couldn’t stop thinking about Trowa, or more particularly, he couldn’t stop thinking about jumping Trowa’s bones. It had only taken about .4 seconds for his heart to change gears from besties to possibly boyfriends, yet his brain was screaming at him to put on the breaks. If they decided to do something now -- and by do something, he really meant sex -- it could turn out badly. Then what? He leaves, and their relationship just slowly fades away like everything on the internet eventually does? Everything in Duo’s being, at that moment, railed against the very idea of never talking to Trowa again.

He closed his eyes, leaning against the vending machine for support, and rubbed the aching spot over his heart where his chest throbbed. Trowa had confessed so much more than just a measly crush, though. Duo was his best friend. He was the person Trowa looked forward to talking to every day, the person he felt comfortable confiding in… and maybe that’s what scared him the most. If they started a romantic relationship, would Duo fuck it up and lose everything in the process? 

The telltale buzz of his phone shook Duo from his thoughts. He pulled it from his pocket, expecting a message from Howard or Hilde. Instead, it was from Trowa. Puzzled, Duo swiped his thumb across the screen to open the app.

clowning00around [8:25 pm]: r u nervous?

Duo bit back a bark of incredulous laughter. Of course, Trowa wasn’t an idiot. He could probably read Duo from a mile away, not that he was ever anything but transparent. He hesitated before replying.

takenoprisoners666 [8:26pm]: ya. i really like u and i don’t want to fuck this up.

Next to him, the ice machine sputtered and hummed noisily as he waited for Trowa’s reply. The three little dots bounced merrily, taunting him and his nervous, overactive brain. He supposed he could only be completely honest at this point. 

clowning00around [8:27pm]: i really like u too. but if u don’t want to do anything right now, i’m ok with that.  
takenoprisoners666 [8:27pm]: do anything...?  
clowning00around [8:28pm]: like… kissing i guess. idfk! get back to the room so we can talk. :P   
clowning00around [8:28pm]: don’t forget my water, either.

After gathering their drinks from the vending machine, Duo returned to the room. When he opened the door, one bed was missing its comforter, top sheet and pillows. They had been stretched out between the beds, creating a small fort in the space just wide enough for two people to lay beside each other on the floor. With a furtive glance outside, Duo closed the room door and walked over to the fort. Trowa’s sneakers were sticking out of the entrance. Duo scuffed the bottom of one with the toe of his shoe, trying to hold back a grin.

“What the hell are you? Five?” The tremble of laughter in his voice was a dead giveaway to the eventual smile that split his face when Trowa wiggled his feet back and forth in response.

“Are you going to join me?” Trowa shot back, his voice calm. Duo thought about it, then slowly lowered himself to the bed, looking at the point on the sheet where he thought Trowa’s head would be. He boxed in Trowa’s feet between his own, leaving the drinks on the stripped mattress for a moment.

“It might be easier for me to talk about… um… it from here,” Duo replied.

“By it, you mean sex, right?” Trowa asked, straightforward as always. A nervous bubble of giggles erupted from Duo, which he immediately regretted. Okay, the sheet really was a good idea. Having a barrier tempered his embarrassment -- though just barely.

“Um, yes,” Duo said.

“Do you want to do it?” Trowa asked.

“Um, yes,” Duo laughed. Trowa laughed, too, softer and muffled by the sheet and pillows of the fort.

“Me, too,” Trowa concluded with a little sigh. “I really, really do. But it doesn’t have to happen tonight...”

Duo slid off the mattress to his knees and carefully crawled under the sheet into the makeshift fort. The thinnest sheet was stretched overhead, while the comforter was beneath, pillowing them against the hard, scratchy carpet. What small amount of light leaked through the cheap sheet overhead was barely enough to make out Trowa’s features, and when Duo finally lay out on his side facing the other he had to blink and wait for his eyes to adjust. Trowa smiled at him faintly.

“Okay, but if tonight is the last time I’m going to be able to see you. Or…. touch you, for a while anyway, we at least have to make out,” Duo said, following a very thin yet acceptable string of logic. Trowa nodded dutifully, watching Duo. It grew quiet again, until Trowa spoke up.

“So are you going to kiss me, then?” He asked, and Duo was spurred forward suddenly with an intense need to fill the request, muttering a soft ‘oh, okay’ in response. His enthusiasm outweighed his experience, however, and Duo’s lips ended up somewhere to the left of Trowa’s mouth against his chin. It wasn’t entirely unpleasant for him, but when he pulled back there was a slight twinge of embarrassed laughter that passed between them.

“Oops,” he said. Trowa just grinned at him and reached out, cradling Duo’s skull lightly as he took his turn and leaned in. Unlike Duo’s first attempt -- to be honest, he was just winging it here -- it seemed that Trowa had a plan. It wasn’t just their lips meeting; the taller boy kissed with his whole body. Duo was suddenly overwhelmed with the realization that maybe he had more experience than Duo. It wasn’t long before the thought fluttered away as Trowa’s mouth moved against his own, pressing forward sweetly with closed-lip kisses while his hips angled to grind against Duo’s and their legs tangled.

Duo closed his eyes, letting Trowa to take the reins and lead their kiss for the moment. His body was turning to jelly, relaxing against his friend in boneless euphoria. When they parted for a moment, Duo opened his eyes slowly, almost shyly. Trowa was watching him, his expression seemingly unaffected by the kiss. Duo rested his hand on Trowa’s hip carefully, inching up until just his thumb brushed against the smooth skin of Trowa’s side right above his waistband. Trowa’s eyelids fluttered slightly.

“I don’t want to leave,” Duo admitted, stroking gently with his thumb. Trowa’s body gave a minute shiver, and he leaned forward, pressing his face against the neck of Duo’s sweatshirt while wrapping his arms around the other’s back and tugging him close. Duo closed his eyes again and tried to steady his breathing, hoping Trowa couldn’t hear how harshly his heart was beating.

“Don’t leave, then,” Trowa muttered, sounding almost petulant, and Duo chuckled against his hair. They lay entwined until Trowa tipped his face upward, brushing his lips against Duo’s jaw and cheek. A warm breath ghosted across Duo’s skin, raising goose flesh all along his arms and chest while sending his hormones into overdrive. Experimentally, Duo rocked his pelvis forward, nudging Trowa’s hips with his own. Another warm gasp shuddered in Duo’s ear.

Their mouths met in another kiss, and this time Duo lead the gentle yet insistent press of lips and tongue himself. The heat between them became suddenly more noticeable, and when Duo shifted, his growing hard-on brushed against Trowa’s thigh.

“M-maybe I’ve changed my mind about the no sex thing,” Duo laughed, tracing the edge of Trowa’s waistband with his thumb before daring to move his hand higher, sliding under Trowa’s shirt to spread over the small of his back. His skin was so warm, and a little sweaty. All of the blankets and pillows, coupled with their rising body heat, and the turtleneck must be stifling. Trowa looked Duo in the eyes seriously.

“Really?” He asked, then bit his lip as if regretting the sheer need that bled into that single word. The sound of want that finally pushed Duo over the edge he’d been skirting the whole night.

“Yeah. Well… I mean --” he stammered, tongue-tied.

“Can I try something?” Trowa asked, his eyes widened as breathless excitement crept into his carefully measured tone. “You can tell me to stop anytime,” he added softly, even as Duo heard the metal hiss of his button and fly being undone. Trowa’s eyes remained on his, feeling out Duo as he went, waiting for a sign from the braided boy before slipping a hand into his pants. Duo kept their eyes locked, and his hand on the small of Trowa’s back, anchoring him while Trowa wrapped his hand around Duo’s already engorged cock. He let out a hiss, eyelids fluttering but never falling, never losing sight of green.

“This okay?” Trowa asked, his breath fanning out over Duo’s mouth. Duo grunted in response, offering up a lazy smile.

“Pretty darn okay,” Duo said, groaning as Trowa’s warm fist stroked up and over the shaft and head, stretching his foreskin before pulling it down again. Trowa brushed the wet slit with the pad of his thumb, and Duo twitched, thrusting forward with a strangled yelp of, “Fucking fuck.” Trowa giggled and broke eye contact to press his lips against the corner of Duo’s slack mouth, sharing his shallow breaths as he continued to stroke Duo until he was panting and gritting his teeth with frustration. The taller boy rutted forward experimentally, pushing Duo onto his back as he ground down onto his thigh. A soft whimper vibrated against Duo’s neck, and he answered with a groan. “Need more,” Duo demanded.

“Okay. Let me try something else,” Trowa whispered, releasing his hold on Duo’s dick. The braided boy watched as Trowa sat up on his knees -- bowing his head though it still pushed up against the thin ceiling of their fort -- and undid his jeans. He wiggled his boxy hips, a move that at any other time would have been silly (but for some reason right now Duo found it so goddamn sexy), and pushed his pants down his thighs. Duo was enthralled, watching those skinny stems appear from under the fabric. Trowa laid back down beside Duo to kick off his shoes, turning his head to grin into indigo eyes as he wriggled and finished shucking his pants. Duo took the hint, finally rousing from his light-headed stupor, and did the same.

After kicking their pants and shoes out of the way they both lay on their sides, watching the other with nervous smiles on their faces.

“Um, so, it’s a thing where we just rub against each other,” Trowa said, suddenly shy.

“Like… nuzzling?” Duo asked, picturing them rubbing faces like cats.

“Kind of,” Trowa laughed, scooting forward until he lay flush with Duo’s hips. “But here. See what I mean?” He rocked forward, rubbing the underside of Duo’s erection with his, still encased in his boxer briefs. A new heat bloomed in the pit of Duo’s stomach and he shivered.

“Oh… ohh, yeah,” he answered, nodding. “I see what you mean. Yes. Yeah… that’s good.” Trowa rocked against him again, lips parting slightly as small sounds of pleasure escaped. Hesitantly, Duo reached over, grasping Trowa’s bony hip before deciding to just go for it and grab his ass. He kneaded the two lean cheeks firmly, forcing Trowa’s hips forward again and holding him there as Duo rocked up and down.

“Duo...” he heard his name and looked up. Trowa’s eyes were closed, his brow furrowed, and he’d pulled the neck of his sweater up over his mouth. The deep flush on his cheeks made Duo’s heart flutter. He slid a hand down from Trowa’s ass to his thighs and spread them, draping one long leg over his hip to get better leverage as they humped each other slowly.

“I’m gonna push your underwear down. That okay?” Duo asked, his voice shaking with excitement and nervousness. Trowa just nodded, opening his eyes to watch as Duo peeled his boxer briefs down and over his thighs. Duo inhaled sharply, appreciating the heavy, red cock when it sprung from the cloth. Unlike Duo, Trowa was circumcised, and seeing him so hard, flushed and needy was doing things to Duo that had him panting and squirming with anticipation. Trowa’s hand met his between their bodies, brushing over Duo’s fingers before wrapping around both his and Duo’s erection. Duo thrust forward, groaning as the pressure of Trowa’s grip held their dicks together tightly. The shiny red heads bobbed up and down in the circle of his fist.

“Duo… can you say something?” Trowa asked, panting softly, stroking his palm over their slick glans. They were both impossibly hard and leaking precum, and Duo wasn’t sure how much farther he could take this before he nutted all over Trowa’s hand, stomach, and maybe even his turtleneck. Trowa released their dicks and rolled onto Duo. Straddling his thighs, and leaning forward on his elbows, he sandwiched their cocks between their stomachs. Duo wetted his lips with his tongue.

“L-like what, Tro?”

“I dunno...” Trowa muttered softly, rolling his pelvis to slide their shafts together. Duo’s hips bucked and he groaned, grabbing onto Trowa’s waist suddenly, trying very hard to keep himself from losing the bare shred of control he had over his body while Trowa writhed against him. “Your voice is… so sexy, Duo. Just say anything. Say what you’re thinking. Please, Duo...” Trowa’s voice trembled, his quiet calm worn down to simple arousal and need. He gasped against Duo’s neck and shivered, laying kisses against his neck and jaw. One hand found its way to Duo’s hair where he gently grazed his fingernails over Duo’s scalp.

“Uhm… fuck… I,” Duo sputtered, then was momentarily muted as his tongue tangled with Trowa’s in a kiss. They parted, panting and moaning into each other’s mouths until Trowa begged him one more time.

“Say anything, Duo,” Trowa breathed. “I’m so close.”

Duo screwed his eyes shut, listening to his own shallow breaths mingling with Trowa’s under the sheet. He was sweating. When he opened his eyes again, he could see the small flyaways of Trowa’s bangs stuck to his temples. God, the whole night had been a blur. It had gone so fast, but Duo wouldn’t have done it any other way. Having Trowa here with him, even if it was in a shitty fort on a hotel room floor, was something like three years in the making. One stupid joke in a chat room, nights of talking for hours on end -- even if it had just been idle chatter, or intense debate, or just companionable silence -- all of it had finally brought them together. Duo wanted to remember their first awkward, sweaty, fumbling time for the rest of his life. It was perfect.

“I -- um -- I’m in love with you,” Duo blurted. Trowa’s lips parted in surprise and his muscles tensed under Duo’s hands as his hips snapped forward. He came with shallow, erratic thrusts and a strangled moan uttered into the fabric of Duo’s sweatshirt. The heat and pressure of his own orgasm overwhelmed Duo as Trowa’s warm cum splattered over his hand, and he followed the taller boy over the precipice. His world blinked out of existence, and Duo was swallowed up in warmth and nothingness, riding out the sounds and smell of Trowa’s orgasm at his hands.

And then, just as suddenly, he was back. Trowa shifted against him sluggishly, rolling off Duo’s thighs to sit up. He stretched, pushing the sheet away from overhead to reveal the water-stained ceiling of the hotel. Duo squinted at it and allowed himself some time to regain his wits. That had certainly been… something. Without the sheet, and without Trowa’s body, he suddenly felt cold.

“Your ears are so red,” Trowa pointed out quietly, drawing Duo’s attention to where he sat on the unmade bed. Duo could only gawp while the other boy tipped his bottled water back to take a much-needed drink. Splatters of their cum dotted Trowa’s thighs and a line of thick drops clung to the fabric of his turtleneck. Most likely it was ruined. And there Trowa sat, cool as a cucumber, sipping bottled water as though minutes before he hadn’t been begging for Duo’s sexy voice. A grin crept onto Duo’s face at the memory.

“D’you really think my voice is sexy?” Duo asked, ignoring the comment about his ears. Trowa coughed, wiping at some of the water that dribbled down his chin. He smiled knowingly.

“Are you really in love with me?” He shot back, effectively wiping the grin from Duo’s face. Oh yeah. Oh yeah, oh shit.

“Fuck… about that… I mean...” Duo fumbled, wiping his hand off on the discarded sheet. He continued to stutter until Trowa laughed softly, cutting him off mid-ramble.

“It’s okay, Duo. The heat of the moment and all,” Trowa replied. Duo glanced over at him, offering a sheepish smile of appreciation. The braided boy stood up and walked to the bathroom to wash his hands. While he was drying them on a towel, Trowa came to the door, leaning against the jamb.

“Think I could borrow one of your shirts?” he asked, picking at a splintered dent in the wood.

“Sure,” Duo said with a shrug. “I guess you can just, like, keep it. Since after tonight...” He trailed off, watching Trowa’s face in the mirror as the realization sunk in, crashing their golden glowy after-sex high. He rubbed at his chest again as the ache from before returned full force. “Something to remember me by,” he added with a smile he hoped didn’t look too depressed.

“Thanks,” Trowa said, leaning forward to place a peck on Duo’s cheek before unceremoniously tugging his turtleneck over his head. It fell with a plop onto the floor while Trowa started the shower.

“W-wait, you’re going to take a shower?” Duo asked, confronted suddenly with the broad, naked expanse of Trowa’s back and his narrow waist. Damn, that turtle neck hid a lot. His eyes slid lower, appreciating everything that had gone by in such a heated blur under that sheet in the room. Trowa’s surprisingly well-rounded bottom and his long legs were quickly rising to the top of Duo’s list of Things He Liked Best About Tonight.

“I’m covered in...” Trowa smirked, turning to look at Duo as he tested the water of the shower with his palm. “I’m covered in our cum. Of course I’m going to shower. Want to join me?”

Duo took a second to process before jumping in with a determined, “Yes.”

\--00--

They remade the bed after their shower and lay side by side, watching TV on the small set in the room. Or, at least Duo was trying to watch TV, but it was hard to concentrate as Trowa traced one long finger over the tattoos that sprawled across his skin. Without moving his neck, Duo glanced down at the top of Trowa’s head where it rested on his shoulder and watched his finger trace loops across his skin.

“What does this one mean?” Trowa asked suddenly. Duo nearly jumped out of his skin, jarring Trowa slightly.

“Uh… that tattoo?” Duo asked, craning his head as Trowa hummed a quiet ‘yeah’ and gave the skin a light pinch. “Hey! Watch it...”

“Do they all have meanings?”

“Not really,” Duo replied. He smoothed a hand over his belly, pointing out a couple of flash tattoos he’d gotten for the hell of it. Things that other artists had done as practice or as freebies. Trowa pointed at a crude drawing of a penis with a smiley face on the glans, one he’d missed earlier that was partially covered by a half-finished tattoo that traveled across Duo’s side.

“I’m guessing this one was a bet,” Trowa said with a smile.

“Actually...” Duo laughed, pushing his damp bangs from his forehead. “I got that after I came out to my brother.”

“When was that?”

“I dunno… when I was, like, fifteen?”

“How did you get a tattoo when you were fifteen?” Trowa asked, raising a brow curiously.

“Solo took me,” Duo replied. “He took me to get most of my older tats, because the kids at my school where bullying me, and his idea was to get them to stop by intimidating them with some ink.”

“Did it work?”

“Yeah… it kinda backfired, though, and everyone stopped, like, wanting to associate with me. It didn’t just intimidate the bullies, ya know,” Duo scooted up to lean against the headboard as Trowa sat up and folded his legs. He was wearing one of Duo’s t-shirts, which happened to be a bit too small in the shoulders, and his underwear.

“I wish you’d said something to me about it,” Trowa finally said. Duo groaned.

“It wasn’t your problem, Tro,” he replied. “And once I met you online, it was over, and I wasn’t about to, like, bring it up into conversation randomly.”

“Why not? I talk to you about everything,” Trowa argued. “About all the weird shit I have to put up with at my parent’s house, the people at school… and you were so good to me and listened. You never judged me about all my angsty teen drama bullshit. I want you to trust me like that.”

“Okay. No. No, stop right there,” Duo held up his hands. “It’s not like that, Tro.”

“Then what is it like, Duo?” Trowa’s tone quieted, and Duo realized that this is what it sounded like when he was angry. Or, maybe, frustrated. He swallowed hard and crawled over to kneel in front of Trowa on the bed, taking his hands in a very sentimental and sappy gesture that made him think of terrible rom coms.

“I trust you,” Duo said. “And I think that this--” he gestured to the hotel room “--and the fact that we finally got to meet in person, and have whack-a-doo sex in a fort on a hotel room floor, is kind of a testament to how much I trust you. You said you had, like, one other friend besides me? Well, in reality, I had no friends. I’m a fuck up and a high school drop out.

“The reason why I didn’t tell you that kind of thing is because, when I’m talking to you, none of that is on my mind. Like, I don’t care about all the fucked up real life shit, because I know it can’t get to me when I got you waiting to chat on the other end of that fucking internet tube. Or whatever it is.”

“Duo --”

“Hold up, you got me on a tangent now. Let me finish,” Duo squeezed Trowa’s hands. “Solo gave me shit for being on the internet a lot, but you were my life line, you know? I realize that’s not something you signed up for, but it just happened. I think you’re, like, the bee’s knees...”

“The bee’s knees?” Trowa asked. Duo’s response was a solemn nod of his head.

“I don’t know how else to put it. And… I wussed out earlier. I am in love with you. I really really freakin’ like you. A lot,” Duo looked down at their hands. “So, will you be, like, my boyfriend in real life?”

“Sure,” Trowa said without hesitation. The taller boy pushed forward, laying Duo back across the bed while pressing kisses against his mouth, cheeks and neck. After the short attack, he rolled onto his back, twining his fingers with Duo’s as they watched the hotel’s ceiling. “I love you, too, Duo.”

They fell asleep like that, and Duo woke up a few hours later when Howie returned to the room. The old man glanced over at the bed and gave Duo a thumb’s up and a wink before he shut off the TV, letting Duo drift back off again.

\--00--

The next time he woke up to a pair of lips against his, and a soft ‘Good bye,’ which roused him like a shot. He grabbed Trowa’s shirt and pulled himself up, groggy but otherwise awake enough to realize this was probably the last time he’d get to see Trowa in the flesh for a while.

“Duo...” Trowa whispered. “You’ll wake your boss.”

“Tro, the man sleeps like a tank,” Duo muttered, stumbling out of bed. He noticed Trowa had already dressed, wearing the t-shirt Duo had given him despite the poor fit. After tugging a t-shirt on over his naked torso Duo walked Trowa out to his car, feeling heavy and ornery, but trying not to dampen the mood.

“I’ll talk to you tonight,” Trowa said. “If you can get online.”

“I’ll find a way,” Duo replied, pulling Trowa into a hug. “Wish we had more time than this.”

“Me too,” Trowa sighed when they parted. He swallowed, and looked everywhere but at Duo. “I gotta go. I’ll see you soon.”

“Bye,” Duo said, watching helplessly as Trowa got into his car and started it up. He waved until Trowa was out of the parking lot and out of sight, then let his hand fall limply to his side.

Howie was awake when Duo returned to the room, getting their things ready to return to the convention. Duo sat on the edge of his bed, listless, while the old man bustled around their room.

“Howie, is it possible to feel, like, every emotion within the span of 12 hours?”

“It went that well, huh?”

“Yeah, but now… he’s fucking gone and I won’t get to meet up with him before we leave on Monday,” Duo grit his teeth and punched the mattress, wishing he’d planned out a stay longer than this. Then again, just yesterday he’d had no idea how their meeting would turn out. He hadn’t even dreamed it would go as well as it did. Howie stopped right in front of Duo, patting his shoulder gently.

“Kid, you got a lifetime ahead of you,” he said. “Before you know it, you’ll be shackin’ up with that boy and doing all kinds of things together. You’ll look back on last night fondly, and forget all the heartache the distance caused. That’s how humans work, kid. It’s how we survive the hard shit.”

“You really think we’ll last that long?” Howie shrugged and gave a boisterous laugh.

“Shit, I might have just jinxed it.”

“Howie!” Duo bristled, finally moving to get ready as Howard continued to laugh.


End file.
